Cover title.Includes bibliographical references

Bigger, J.H.

Farrar, M.D.

Flint, W.P.

English

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' L I B R. A R. YOF THLUNIVERSITYOF ILLINOIS00.433-444PCIRCULATINGr UNBOUNDCIRCULATING CORY;OIL BAITSfor Grasshopper andArmyworm ControlBy M. D. FARRAR. W. P. FLINT,and J. H. BIGGER100 Tonswere used in Illinois in3088 Tonswere used in Illinois inBulletin 442University of Illinois Agricultural Experiment StationIn Cooperation with the Illinois State Natural History Surveyo IL BAITS for armyworm and grasshopper con-trol in Illinois were first tested in 1934. Experi-ments and the experience of farmers who usedthese baits soon established a preference for them overbaits containing molasses.In the 1937 state-wide campaign for grasshoppercontrol an oil-bait program was followed. More than3,400 tons of poisoned bait was spread, about 90 percentof which was made with oil as the binder. Thus thistype of bait was given a practical test on some 600,000acres of the principal Illinois crops.Farmers liked the ease with which the oil baits couldbe mixed, stored, and spread, and grasshopper controlwas in general satisfactory where this kind of bait wasused. Another merit of the oil bait was that it causedless injury to tender foliage than did some other kindsof bait.Oil baits are therefore recommended to the farmersof Illinois because they have satisfactory killing qualities;when properly applied they do not easily injure tendercrops ; and they are convenient to mix, store, and spread.Urbana, Illinois April, 1938Publications in the Bulletin series report the results of investigations made by orsponsored by the Experiment StationOil Baits for Grasshopper andArmyworm ControlBy M. D. FARRAR, W. P. FLINT, and J. H. BIGGER'HE DESTRUCTION of farm crops by insects has become aproblem of increasing concern during the past decade as drouth^years have followed one another in rapid succession. Of themany methods and materials developed or tested for use against grass-hoppers, armyworms, and some other cutworms, certain poison baitscontaining lubricating oils have proved the most effective and practicalunder Illinois conditions.TESTS EXTENDED OVER FOUR YEARSThe Illinois experiments with oil baits, briefly summarized inthis bulletin, were begun in 19342 and continued thru 1937. Theywere suggested by work done in the Dakotas3 in 1933. The Illinoisfield tests were conducted at three places in the state in 1934 on mixedpopulations of cutworms. An armyworm outbreak in western Illinoisin 1935 afforded four additional tests on this pest. Two grasshopperexperiments were also made the same year.The oil baits proved so effective in controlling both grasshoppersand armyworms in 1934 and 1935 that their more general use wasrecommended to Illinois farmers in 1936, a year when grasshoppersbecame destructive to farm crops thruout much of the state. Again theoil baits, both experimentally and in the hands of farmers and seeds-men, proved their worth. By means of these baits valuable isolationplots for the production of hybrid corn were saved from seriousdamage. Altogether about a hundred tons of oil bait was used byIllinois farmers this year.By 1937 the oil baits had so well demonstrated their value that'M. D. FARRAR, Research Entomologist, Illinois State Natural HistorySurvey; W. P. FLINT, Chief Entomologist, Illinois State Natural History Surveyand Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station; and J. H. BIGCER, AssociateEntomologist, Illinois State Natural History Survey.'Bigger, J. H. Preliminary field tests of oil bait for cutworm control.Jour. Econ. Ent. 28, 130. 1935.'Parker, J. R., Shotwell, R. L., and Morton, F. A. The use of oil in grass-hopper baits. Jour. Econ. Ent. 27, 89. 1934.415416 BULLETIN No. 442 [.April,3,088 tons was reported by the Illinois farm advisers as used in thecampaign that year against grasshoppers. This amount of oil baitconstituted approximately 90 percent of all the poison bait used.While slightly higher in cost, it was preferred by most farmers to baitscontaining molasses and water because of its superior mixing, storage,and handling qualities.OILS OF 20-30 VISCOSITIES MOST SATISFACTORYMineral oils with a wide range of chemical properties were testedduring 1937. These were obtained from eight different oil companiesand included twenty different trade-named brands. The prices ofmany of these oils are such as to make them practical for use inoil baits.The most satisfactory oils were mineral oils in the 20-to-30 viscosityrange, the higher viscosity giving better results under very dry, hotconditions. Following are the specifications of an oil that was usedextensively in these baits and gave good results:Viscosity SAE 20Specific gravity 9212Flash 365 min .Fire 410-420Color NPA 4yi-5Vegetable oils, including palm oils, coconut oil, and soybean oilhave been tested in baits, but the mineral oils gave better results andare cheaper.BRAN-COB MIXTURE MADE EXCELLENT CARRIERAs a carrier for the oil and the poison, wheat bran was found tobe the best and cheapest material that is generally available. 1 Everyelevator and feed store handles it. Farmers can purchase it well inadvance of the time when it will be needed for grasshopper baits, andif weather conditions reduce the hoppers so that it is not needed forbait it can be used for feed.In the search for a still cheaper carrier, tests were made in 1937of a mixture of bran and corncobs ground to the fineness of bran.No reduction in the efficiency of the mixture could be detected whenthe ground corncobs and bran were mixed in equal parts. In fact thismixture proved the cheapest and most effective bait tested under Illi-*A number of other materials including oat hulls, cottonseed hulls, sawdust,and various other commercial by-products were tested in 1937, but none provedequal to bran.19381 OIL BAITS FOR GRASSHOPPER AND ARMYWORM CONTROL 417nois conditions. When, however, the bran-cob mixture was more thanhalf ground cobs, an inferior bait resulted.SEVERAL POISONS PROVED EFFECTIVEThe most effective poisons used in these baits were refined whitearsenic, crude white arsenic, dry sodium arsenite, sodium pyroarsenate,sodium fluosilicate, and paris green. All of these used at 4 poundsto 100 pounds of bran, or a bran and corncob mixture, have givenvery satisfactory kills. When sodium arsenite is used, only 3 poundsis necessary to 100 pounds of bran and corncob mixture.Liquid sodium arsenite did not prove satisfactory in the oil baits.OIL BAITS CONVENIENT TO MIX AND STOREOne of the big advantages in the use of oil baits over those con-taining water and molasses is that they can be prepared some time inadvance. Tests have shown that they can be stored for more than ayear without deteriorating.With oil baits, as with any bait, thoro mixing of the ingredients isnecessary in order to obtain good results. The bran and cobs, or branalone, and the poison should first be thoroly mixed. Then the oil shouldbe added and the whole thoroly stirred until every particle of thecarrier is coated with oil.Storing the mixed bait for a month or more seems to improve it,as the oil permeates more thoroly thru the mixture and in this way amore uniform distribution is obtained.Any mixed bait should be conspicuously labeled POISON andstored where there will be no danger of its being used for animal feed.PLANT INJURY WAS LESS WITH OIL BAITSFor grasshopper bait it is very important to use materials that willnot burn the foliage of plants when it is sown broadcast over the field.The soybean, one of the principal crops in Illinois, has a very tenderfoliage, which, in the experience of the authors, is easily burned withliquid sodium arsenite water bait or with the water-molasses poison-bran bait. As shown by extensive field observations, some of the oilbaits were much less injurious to this crop than the water baits. Theonly bait that did not injure soybean plants was a mixture of lubricatingoil, bran, and paris green (Table 1).Any baits used on soybeans should be spread uniformly and at arate not to exceed 10 pounds to the acre or serious burning may result.418 BULLETIN No. 442 {April,TABLE 1. INJURY TO SOYBEAN FOLIAGE FROM WET BAIT AND FROM OIL BAIT(Treatment applied August 10, 1936; plants examined August 15)Kind of bait(10 pounds applied per acre)1938} OIL BAITS FOR GRASSHOPPER AND ARMYWORM CONTROL 419Altho present in smaller numbers, other species also were killedby the baits. These were the corn ear worm (Heliothis obsoleta Fab.),alfalfa caterpillar (Eurymus eurytheme Bdv.), and alfalfa looper(Autographa califonica Speyer). A few garden webworms (Loxostegcsimilalis Guenee) were also killed where the bait was used in alfalfa,but satisfactory control of any of the above species was not obtained.No experiments in armyworm control were conducted in 1936. In1937 the work was confined to field observation made in cooperationwith more than a thousand farmers. In this year farmers thruout thestate used oil baits in combating general outbreaks of this insect.Lack of control was encountered only in one section where a certaincheap oil having a very pronounced odor was used against the truearmyworm. The armyworm larvae would not eat bait made with thisoil, and farmers made rapid shift back to the bran-molasses bait. Oilfrom the same lot was used successfully in grasshopper bait.TABLE 3. GRASSHOPPER CONTROL: SUMMARY OF EXPERIMENTS WITH OIL BAITSUSED AGAINST MIXED POPULATIONS OF GRASSHOPPERS(All lubricating oils included here are available commercially)420 BULLETIN No. 442The 1937 observations indicate that oils that are to be used incombined armyworm and cutworm bait should be of a quality marketedas commercial lubricating oil with a viscosity rating of SAE 20 to 30.OIL BAITS FOR GRASSHOPPER CONTROLFor the control of grasshoppers, baits containing lubricating oilsproved as effective as baits containing molasses and water or wateralone (Table 3). The quality of the lubricating oil is, however, animportant factor in its effectiveness. Oils that should not be used are:crankcase oil; reclaimed crankcase oil; fuel oils; oils of SAE 10 orless, which are in the class of floor oils; oils with a high sulfur content,and oils having a pronounced odor.The following oil-bait formula was successfully used by severalthousand Illinois farmers:Base (bran, or bran and ground corncobs inequal parts) 100 poundsPoison (white arsenic or other poisons, seepage 417) 4 poundsLubricating oil, SAE 20-30 2 gallonsAdvantages of oil baits for grasshopper control1. Control is satisfactory.2. Materials are available everywhere.3. The materials or the prepared bait can be stored over longperiods.4. Properly applied, these baits are not so likely to cause injury totender crops as are other kinds of bait.Disadvantages of oil baits for grasshopper control1. Cost per pound is slightly higher.2. An oil may be obtained that is not satisfactory.15,0504-3814137DIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANAQ630.7IL6BC002BULLETIN URBANA433.444 1937-3830112019529277';>:.':; '*-i'l -'.'}' i--'t M 1 v ; '". ; ''"f,.!i i-''-;;; lilSHW!? HmHV' ;:^! <> '^"'V,'^: HHB8BBI

Oil baits for grasshopper and armyworm control

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